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{{other uses}}Life extension is the idea of extending the human lifespan, either modestly – through improvements in medicine – or dramatically by increasing the maximum lifespan beyond its generally settled{{Clarify|reason=|date=February 2019}} limit of 125 years.BOOK, Turner BS, Can We Live Forever? A Sociological and Moral Inquiry, Anthem Press, 2009, 3, The ability to achieve such dramatic changes, however, does not currently exist.Some researchers in this area, and "life extensionists", "immortalists" or "longevists" (those who wish to achieve longer lives themselves), believe that future breakthroughs in tissue rejuvenation, stem cells, regenerative medicine, molecular repair, gene therapy, pharmaceuticals, and organ replacement (such as with artificial organs or xenotransplantations) will eventually enable humans to have indefinite lifespans (agerasia{{OED|agerasia}}) through complete rejuvenation to a healthy youthful condition. The ethical ramifications, if life extension becomes a possibility, are debated by bioethicists.The sale of purported anti-aging products such as supplements and hormone replacement is a lucrative global industry. For example, the industry that promotes the use of hormones as a treatment for consumers to slow or reverse the aging process in the US market generated about $50 billion of revenue a year in 2009. The use of such products has not been proven to be effective or safe.JOURNAL, 10.1007/s10522-008-9170-6, 18726707, The extreme arrogance of anti-aging medicine, Biogerontology, 10, 2, 223â8, 2008, Holliday, Robin,

Average and maximum lifespan

During the process of aging, an organism accumulates damage to its macromolecules, cells, tissues, and organs. Specifically, aging is characterized as and thought to be caused by "genomic instability, telomere attrition, epigenetic alterations, loss of proteostasis, deregulated nutrient sensing, mitochondrial dysfunction, cellular senescence, stem cell exhaustion, and altered intercellular communication."JOURNAL, 2013, The hallmarks of aging, Cell, 153, 6, 1194â1217, 10.1016/j.cell.2013.05.039, 23746838, 3836174, LÃ³pez-OtÃ­n, C, Blasco, M. A., Partridge, L, Serrano, M, Kroemer, G, Oxidation damage to cellular contents caused by free radicals is believed to contribute to aging as well.Halliwell B, Gutteridge JMC (2007). Free Radicals in Biology and Medicine. Oxford University Press, USA, {{ISBN|019856869X}}, {{ISBN|978-0198568698}}JOURNAL, 1383772, 275, 3â6, Oxidative and other DNA damages as the basis of aging: a review, September 1992, 305â15, 10.1016/0921-8734(92)90034-M, Mutation Research/DNAging, Holmes, G. E., Bernstein, C, Bernstein, H, The longest documented human lifespan is 122 years, the case of Jeanne Calment who according to records was born in 1875 and died in 1997, whereas the maximum lifespan of a wildtype mouse, commonly used as a model in research on aging, is about three years.WEB,weblink Mouse Facts, informatics.jax.org, Genetic differences between humans and mice that may account for these different aging rates include differences in efficiency of DNA repair, antioxidant defenses, energy metabolism, proteostasis maintenance, and recycling mechanisms such as autophagy.WEB,weblink What Causes Aging? Damage-Based Theories of Aging, Average lifespan in a population is lowered by infant and child mortality, which are frequently linked to infectious diseases or nutrition problems. Later in life, vulnerability to accidents and age-related chronic disease such as cancer or cardiovascular disease play an increasing role in mortality. Extension of expected lifespan can often be achieved by access to improved medical care, vaccinations, good diet, exercise and avoidance of hazards such as smoking.Maximum lifespan is determined by the rate of aging for a species inherent in its genes and by environmental factors. Widely recognized methods of extending maximum lifespan in model organisms such as nematodes, fruit flies, and mice include caloric restriction, gene manipulation, and administration of pharmaceuticals.JOURNAL, 2012, Aging biology: a new frontier for drug discovery, Expert Opin Drug Discov, 7, 3, 217â229, 10.1517/17460441.2012.660144, 22468953, Verdaguer, E, Junyent, F, Folch, J, Beas-Zarate, C, Auladell, C, PallÃ s, M, Camins, A, Another technique uses evolutionary pressures such as breeding from only older members or altering levels of extrinsic mortality.JOURNAL, 2006, The evolution of late life, Ageing Res Rev, 5, 1, 14â32, 10.1016/j.arr.2005.06.003, 16085467, Rauser, C. L., Mueller, L. D., Rose, M. R., JOURNAL, 2000, Experimental evolution of aging, growth, and reproduction in fruitflies, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 97, 7, 3309â3313, 10.1073/pnas.060289597, 10716732, 16235, Stearns, S. C., Ackermann, M, Doebeli, M, Kaiser, M, Some animals such as hydra, planarian flatworms, and certain sponges, corals, and jellyfish do not die of old age and exhibit potential immortality.JOURNAL, 2002, Not your father's planarian: a classic model enters the era of functional genomics, Nat Rev Genet, 3, 3, 210â219, 10.1038/nrg759, 11972158, Newmark, P. A., SÃ¡nchez Alvarado, A, JOURNAL, 1992, Bi-directional conversion in Turritopsis nutricula (Hydrozoa), Scientia Marina, 56, 2â3, 137â140,weblink Bavestrello, G., Sommer, C., SarÃ , M., yes,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20150626120819weblink">weblink 2015-06-26, JOURNAL, 9615920, 33, 3, Mortality patterns suggest lack of senescence in hydra, May 1998, MartÃ­nez DE, 217â25, 10.1016/S0531-5565(97)00113-7, Experimental Gerontology, 10.1.1.500.9508, JOURNAL, 2014, Aging and longevity in the simplest animals and the quest for immortality, Ageing Res Rev, 16, 66â82, 10.1016/j.arr.2014.05.003, 24910306, 4133289, Petralia, Ronald S., Mattson, Mark P., Yao, Pamela J.,

Hormone treatment

The anti-aging industry offers several hormone therapies. Some of these have been criticized for possible dangers and a lack of proven effect. For example, the American Medical Association has been critical of some anti-aging hormone therapies.NEWS, Bruce, Japsen, 15 June 2009, AMA report questions science behind using hormones as anti-aging treatment,weblinkThe Chicago Tribune, 17 July 2009, While growth hormone (GH) decreases with age, the evidence for use of growth hormone as an anti-aging therapy is mixed and based mostly on animal studies. There are mixed reports that GH or IGF-1 modulates the aging process in humans and about whether the direction of its effect is positive or negative.JOURNAL, Sattler FR, Growth hormone in the aging male, Best Pract. Res. Clin. Endocrinol. Metab., 27, 4, 541â55, August 2013, 24054930, 10.1016/j.beem.2013.05.003, In animal models, alterations in GH/IGF-1 signaling with reductions in these somatotrophs appear to increase life span. ... Administration of IGF-1Eb (mechanogrowth factor) stimulates proliferation of myoblasts and induces muscle hypertrophy. Increases in GH and IGF-1 during adolescence are beneficial for brain and cardiovascular function during the aging process and GH administration during adolescence is vasoprotective and increases life-span.15 ... Studies relating GH and IGF-1 status to longevity provide inconsistent evidence as to whether decreased (somatopause) or high levels (e.g. acromegaly) of these hormones are beneficial or detrimental to longevity. ... It is difficult to reconcile the largely protective effects of GH/IGF-1 deficiency on longevity in animals with the inconsistent or deleterious effects of low levels or declining GH/IGF-1 during human aging., 3940699,

Scientific research

In 1991, the American Academy of Anti-Aging Medicine (A4M) was formed. The American Board of Medical Specialties recognizes neither anti-aging medicine nor the A4M's professional standing.NEWS, Alex, Kuczynski, 12 April 1998, Anti-Aging Potion Or Poison?,weblinkThe New York Times, 17 July 2009, In 2003, Aubrey de Grey and David Gobel formed the Methuselah Foundation, which gives financial grants to anti-aging research projects. In 2009, de Grey and several others founded the SENS Research Foundation, a California-based scientific research organization which conducts research into aging and funds other anti-aging research projects at various universities.research report 2011. Sens Foundation In 2013, Google announced Calico, a new company based in San Francisco that will harness new technologies to increase scientific understanding of the biology of aging.WEB,weblink How Google's Calico aims to fight aging and 'solve death', Arion McNicoll, Arion, 3 October 2013, CNN, It is led by Arthur D. Levinson,WEB,weblink Google announces Calico, a new company focused on health and well-being, September 18, 2013, and its research team includes scientists such as Hal V. Barron, David Botstein, and Cynthia Kenyon. In 2014, biologist Craig Venter founded Human Longevity Inc., a company dedicated to scientific research to end aging through genomics and cell therapy. They received funding with the goal of compiling a comprehensive human genotype, microbiome, and phenotype database.WEB,weblink Human Longevity Inc. (HLI) Launched to Promote Healthy Aging Using Advances in... â SAN DIEGO, March 4, 2014 /PRNewswire/ --, Human Longevity Inc., 4 March 2014, Aside from private initiatives, aging research is being conducted in university laboratories, and includes universities such as Harvard and UCLA. University researchers have made a number of breakthroughs in extending the lives of mice and insects by reversing certain aspects of aging.WEB,weblink Young blood makes old mice more youthful, Landau, Elizabeth, 5 May 2014, CNN, "Harvard researchers find protein that could reverse the aging process". gizmag.com.WEB,weblink UCLA biologists delay the aging process by 'remote control', Wolpert, Stuart, UCLA.edu, WEB,weblink Australian and US scientists reverse ageing in mice, humans could be next, ABC News, 2013-12-19,

Ethics and politics

Politics relevant to the substances of life extension pertain mostly to communications and availability.{{Citation needed|date=July 2010}}In the United States, product claims on food and drug labels are strictly regulated. The First Amendment (freedom of speech) protects third-party publishers' rights to distribute fact, opinion and speculation on life extension practices. Manufacturers and suppliers also provide informational publications, but because they market the substances, they are subject to monitoring and enforcement by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), which polices claims by marketers. What constitutes the difference between truthful and false claims is hotly debated and is a central controversy in this arena.{{Citation needed|date=February 2009}}

Scientific controversy

Some critics dispute the portrayal of aging as a disease. For example, Leonard Hayflick, who determined that fibroblasts are limited to around 50 cell divisions, reasons that aging is an unavoidable consequence of entropy. Hayflick and fellow biogerontologists Jay Olshansky and Bruce Carnes have strongly criticized the anti-aging industry in response to what they see as unscrupulous profiteering from the sale of unproven anti-aging supplements.JOURNAL, Position statement on human aging, The Journals of Gerontology Series A: Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences, 57, 8, B292â7, 1 August 2002, 12145354, 10.1093/gerona/57.8.B292, Olshansky, S. J., Hayflick, L, Carnes, B. A.,

Consumer motivations

Research by Sobh and Martin (2011) suggests that people buy anti-aging products to obtain a hoped-for self (e.g., keeping a youthful skin) or to avoid a feared-self (e.g., looking old). The research shows that when consumers pursue a hoped-for self, it is expectations of success that most strongly drive their motivation to use the product. The research also shows why doing badly when trying to avoid a feared self is more motivating than doing well. When product use is seen to fail it is more motivating than success when consumers seek to avoid a feared-self.JOURNAL, 2011, Feedback Information and Consumer Motivation. The Moderating Role of Positive and Negative Reference Values in Self-Regulation,weblink European Journal of Marketing, 45, 6, 963â986, 10.1108/03090561111119976, yes,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20140818073959weblink">weblink 2014-08-18, Sobh, Rana, Martin, Brett A.S.,

Political parties

Though many scientists stateWEB,weblink Scientists' Open Letter on Aging, Imminst.org, 2012-10-07, that life extension and radical life extension are possible, there are still no international or national programs focused on radical life extension. There are political forces staying for and against life extension. By 2012, in Russia, the United States, Israel, and the Netherlands, the Longevity political parties started. They aimed to provide political support to radical life extension research and technologies, and ensure the fastest possible and at the same time soft transition of society to the next step â life without aging and with radical life extension, and to provide access to such technologies to most currently living people.WEB,weblink A Single-Issue Political Party for Longevity Science, Fightaging.org, 2012-10-07, 2012-07-27,

Commentators

Leon Kass (chairman of the US President's Council on Bioethics from 2001 to 2005) has questioned whether potential exacerbation of overpopulation problems would make life extension unethical.WEB, Simon, Smith, 3 December 2002, Killing Immortality,weblinkweblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20040607195722weblink">weblink 7 June 2004, Betterhumans, 17 July 2009, He states his opposition to life extension with the words:}}John Harris, former editor-in-chief of the Journal of Medical Ethics, argues that as long as life is worth living, according to the person himself, we have a powerful moral imperative to save the life and thus to develop and offer life extension therapies to those who want them.Harris J. (2007) Enhancing Evolution: The ethical case for making better people. Princeton University Press, New Jersey.TranshumanistphilosopherNick Bostrom has argued that any technological advances in life extension must be equitably distributed and not restricted to a privileged few.NEWS, John, Sutherland, 9 May 2006, The ideas interview: Nick Bostrom,weblinkThe Guardian, 17 July 2009, London, In an extended metaphor entitled "The Fable of the Dragon-Tyrant", Bostrom envisions death as a monstrous dragon who demands human sacrifices. In the fable, after a lengthy debate between those who believe the dragon is a fact of life and those who believe the dragon can and should be destroyed, the dragon is finally killed. Bostrom argues that political inaction allowed many preventable human deaths to occur.JOURNAL, Bostrom, N, The fable of the dragon tyrant, Journal of Medical Ethics, 31, 5, 273â7, May 2005, 15863685, 1734155, 10.1136/jme.2004.009035,

Overpopulation concerns

Controversy about life extension is due to fear of overpopulation and possible effects on society.WEB,weblink Superlongevity Without Overpopulation, Fight Aging!, 2005-02-06, Biogerontologist Aubrey De Grey counters the overpopulation critique by pointing out that the therapy could postpone or eliminate menopause, allowing women to space out their pregnancies over more years and thus decreasing the yearly population growth rate.WEB,weblink Peter Singer on Should We Live to 1,000? â Project Syndicate, Project Syndicate, 2012-12-10, Moreover, the philosopher and futurist Max More argues that, given the fact the worldwide population growth rate is slowing down and is projected to eventually stabilize and begin falling, superlongevity would be unlikely to contribute to overpopulation.

Opinion polls

A Spring 2013 Pew Research poll in the United States found that 38% of Americans would want life extension treatments, and 56% would reject it. However, it also found that 68% believed most people would want it and that only 4% consider an "ideal lifespan" to be more than 120 years. The median "ideal lifespan" was 91 years of age and the majority of the public (63%) viewed medical advances aimed at prolonging life as generally good. 41% of Americans believed that radical life extension (RLE) would be good for society, while 51% said they believed it would be bad for society. One possibility for why 56% of Americans claim they would reject life extension treatments may be due to the cultural perception that living longer would result in a longer period of decrepitude, and that the elderly in our current society are unhealthy.JOURNAL, de MagalhÃ£es JP, 2014, The scientific quest for lasting youth: prospects for curing aging, Rejuvenation Res, 17, 5, 458â67, 10.1089/rej.2014.1580, 25132068, 4203147, Religious people are no more likely to oppose life extension than the unaffiliated,WEB,weblink Living to 120 and Beyond: Americans' Views on Aging, Medical Advances and Radical Life Extension, 6 August 2013, Pew Research Center's Religion & Public Life Project, though some variation exists between religious denominations.

Aging as a disease

Mainstream medical organizations and practitioners do not consider aging to be a disease. David Sinclair says: "I don't see aging as a disease, but as a collection of quite predictable diseases caused by the deterioration of the body".JOURNAL, Hayden EC, 2007, A new angle on 'old', Nature, 450, 7170, 603â5, 10.1038/450603a, 18046373, 2007Natur.450..603H, The two main arguments used are that aging is both inevitable and universal while diseases are not.Hamerman D. (2007) Geriatric Bioscience: The link between aging & disease. The Johns Hopkins University Press, Maryland. However, not everyone agrees. Harry R. Moody, director of academic affairs for AARP, notes that what is normal and what is disease strongly depend on a historical context.JOURNAL, Moody HR, Who's afraid of life extension?, Generations, 25, 4, 2002, 33â7, David Gems, assistant director of the Institute of Healthy Ageing, argues that aging should be viewed as a disease.JOURNAL, Gems D, 2011, Aging: To Treat, or Not to Treat? The possibility of treating aging is not just an idle fantasy, American Scientist, 99, 4, 278â80, 10.1511/2011.91.278, In response to the universality of aging, David Gems notes that it is as misleading as arguing that Basenji are not dogs because they do not bark.JOURNAL, Gems D, 2011, Tragedy and delight: the ethics of decelerated ageing, Philos Trans R Soc B, 366, 1561, 108â112, 10.1098/rstb.2010.0288, 21115537, 3001315, Because of the universality of aging he calls it a "special sort of disease". Robert M. Perlman, coined the terms "aging syndrome" and "disease complex" in 1954 to describe aging.JOURNAL, Perlman RM, 1954, The aging syndrome, J Am Geriatr Soc, 2, 2, 123â129, 10.1111/j.1532-5415.1954.tb00884.x, The discussion whether aging should be viewed as a disease or not has important implications. One view is, this would stimulate pharmaceutical companies to develop life extension therapies and in the United States of America, it would also increase the regulation of the anti-aging market by the FDA. Anti-aging now falls under the regulations for cosmetic medicine which are less tight than those for drugs.JOURNAL, 15197284, 2004, Mehlman, M. J., Anti-aging medicine: Can consumers be better protected?, The Gerontologist, 44, 3, 304â10, Binstock, R. H., Juengst, E. T., Ponsaran, R. S., Whitehouse, P. J., 10.1093/geront/44.3.304,

Research

Theoretically, extension of maximum lifespan in humans could be achieved by reducing the rate of aging damage by periodic replacement of damaged tissues, molecular repair or rejuvenation of deteriorated cells and tissues, reversal of harmful epigenetic changes, or the enhancement of enzyme telomerase activity.JOURNAL, Rando TA, Chang HY, Howard Y. Chang, 2012, Aging, rejuvenation, and epigenetic reprogramming: resetting the aging clock, Cell, 148, 1â2, 46â57, 10.1016/j.cell.2012.01.003, 22265401, 3336960, JOURNAL, Johnson AA, Akman K, Calimport SR, Wuttke D, Stolzing A, de MagalhÃ£es JP, 2012, The role of DNA methylation in aging, rejuvenation, and age-related disease, Rejuvenation Res, 15, 5, 483â494, 10.1089/rej.2012.1324, 23098078, 3482848, Research geared towards life extension strategies in various organisms is currently under way at a number of academic and private institutions. Since 2009, investigators have found ways to increase the lifespan of nematode worms and yeast by 10-fold; the record in nematodes was achieved through genetic engineering and the extension in yeast by a combination of genetic engineering and caloric restriction.JOURNAL, 2009, Extreme-longevity mutations orchestrate silencing of multiple signaling pathways, Biochim Biophys Acta, 1790, 10, 1075â83, 10.1016/j.bbagen.2009.05.011, 19465083, 2885961, Shmookler Reis, R. J., Bharill, P, Tazearslan, C, Ayyadevara, S, A 2009 review of longevity research noted: "Extrapolation from worms to mammals is risky at best, and it cannot be assumed that interventions will result in comparable life extension factors. Longevity gains from dietary restriction, or from mutations studied previously, yield smaller benefits to Drosophila than to nematodes, and smaller still to mammals. This is not unexpected, since mammals have evolved to live many times the worm's lifespan, and humans live nearly twice as long as the next longest-lived primate. From an evolutionary perspective, mammals and their ancestors have already undergone several hundred million years of natural selection favoring traits that could directly or indirectly favor increased longevity, and may thus have already settled on gene sequences that promote lifespan. Moreover, the very notion of a "life-extension factor" that could apply across taxa presumes a linear response rarely seen in biology."

Anti-aging drugs

There are a number of chemicals intended to slow the aging process currently being studied in animal models.Childs et al. (2015). Cellular senescence in aging and age-related disease: from mechanisms to therapy Nature Medicine {{doi|10.1038/nm.4000}} One type of research is related to the observed effects of a calorie restriction (CR) diet, which has been shown to extend lifespan in some animals.JOURNAL, Shanmuganayagam, M., D., Anderson, Caloric restriction and aging: studies in mice and monkeys, Weindruch, R., Toxicologic Pathology, 37, 1, 47â51, 2009, 19075044, 10.1177/0192623308329476, 3734859, Based on that research, there have been attempts to develop drugs that will have the same effect on the aging process as a caloric restriction diet, which are known as Caloric restriction mimetic drugs. Some drugs that are already approved for other uses have been studied for possible longevity effects on laboratory animals because of a possible CR-mimic effect; they include rapamycin,JOURNAL, 2009, Rapamycin fed late in life extends lifespan in genetically heterogeneous mice, Nature, 460, 7253, 392â5, 10.1038/nature08221, 19587680, 2786175, Harrison DE, Strong R, Sharp ZD, etal, 2009Natur.460..392H, metformin and other geroprotectors.JOURNAL, 2005, Identification of Potential Caloric Restriction Mimetics by Microarray Profiling, Physiological Genomics, 23, 3, 343â50, 16189280, 10.1152/physiolgenomics.00069.2005, Dhahbi JM, Mote PL, Fahy GM, Spindler SR, 10.1.1.327.4892, MitoQ, resveratrol and pterostilbene are dietary supplements that have also been studied in this context.JOURNAL, Kaeberlein, Matt, Resveratrol, pterostilbene and rapamycin:are they anti-aging drugs?, BioEssays, 2010, 32, 2, 96â99, 10.1002/bies.200900171, 20091754, JOURNAL, A Low Dose of Dietary Resveratrol Partially Mimics Caloric Restriction and Retards Aging Parameters in Mice, PLOS ONE, 3, 6, e2264, 10.1371/journal.pone.0002264, 18523577, 2386967, 2008, Barger JL, Kayo T, Vann JM, etal, 2008PLoSO...3.2264B, JOURNAL, 23691264, 10.1155/2013/575482, 2013, A review of pterostilbene antioxidant activity and disease modification, 3649683, 2013, Oxid Med Cell Longev, 575482, McCormack D, McFadden D, Other attempts to create anti-aging drugs have taken different research paths. One notable direction of research has been research into the possibility of using the enzyme telomerase in order to counter the process of telomere shortening.JOURNAL, Telomeres and Telomerase Basic Science Implications for Aging, American Geriatrics Society, 49, 8, 1105â1109, 10.1046/j.1532-5415.2001.49217.x, 2001, Ahmed, Ali, Tollefsbol, Trygve, However, there are potential dangers in this, since some research has also linked telomerase to cancer and to tumor growth and formation.JOURNAL, 10.1158/1541-7786.MCR-05-0147, 16179494, Telomerase and Cancer: Kirk A. Landon - AACR Prize for Basic Cancer Research Lecture, Molecular Cancer Research, 3, 9, 477â82, 2005, Blackburn, E. H.,

Cloning and body part replacement

Some life extensionists suggest that therapeutic cloning and stem cell research could one day provide a way to generate cells, body parts, or even entire bodies (generally referred to as reproductive cloning) that would be genetically identical to a prospective patient. Recently, the US Department of Defense initiated a program to research the possibility of growing human body parts on mice.NEWS, Donald, Melanson, April 22, 2008, DoD establishes institute tasked with regrowing body parts,weblinkEngadget, June 29, 2010, Complex biological structures, such as mammalian joints and limbs, have not yet been replicated. Dog and primate brain transplantation experiments were conducted in the mid-20th century but failed due to rejection and the inability to restore nerve connections. As of 2006, the implantation of bio-engineered bladders grown from patients' own cells has proven to be a viable treatment for bladder disease.NEWS, Roxanne, Khamsi, April 4, 2006, Bio-engineered bladders successful in patients,weblinkNew Scientist, January 26, 2011, Proponents of body part replacement and cloning contend that the required biotechnologies are likely to appear earlier than other life-extension technologies.The use of human stem cells, particularly embryonic stem cells, is controversial. Opponents' objections generally are based on interpretations of religious teachings or ethical considerations.{{citation needed|date=June 2018}} Proponents of stem cell research point out that cells are routinely formed and destroyed in a variety of contexts. Use of stem cells taken from the umbilical cord or parts of the adult body may not provoke controversy.NEWS, Christine, White, 19 August 2005, Umbilical stem cell breakthrough,weblinkThe Australian, 17 July 2009, yes,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20090720054316weblink">weblink 20 July 2009, The controversies over cloning are similar, except general public opinion in most countries stands in opposition to reproductive cloning. Some proponents of therapeutic cloning predict the production of whole bodies, lacking consciousness, for eventual brain transplantation.

Cryonics

For cryonicists (advocates of cryopreservation), storing the body at low temperatures after death may provide an "ambulance" into a future in which advanced medical technologies may allow resuscitation and repair. They speculate cryogenic temperatures will minimize changes in biological tissue for many years, giving the medical community ample time to cure all disease, rejuvenate the aged and repair any damage that is caused by the cryopreservation process.Many cryonicists do not believe that legal death is "real death" because stoppage of heartbeat and breathingâthe usual medical criteria for legal deathâoccur before biological death of cells and tissues of the body. Even at room temperature, cells may take hours to die and days to decompose. Although neurological damage occurs within 4â6 minutes of cardiac arrest, the irreversible neurodegenerative processes do not manifest for hours.JOURNAL, Neuronal necrosis after middle cerebral artery occlusion in Wistar rats progresses at different time intervals in the caudoputamen and the cortex, Stroke, 26, 4, 636â42; discussion 643, 1995, 7709411, 10.1161/01.STR.26.4.636, Garcia JH, Liu KF, Ho KL, Cryonicists {{who|date=July 2017}}state that rapid cooling and cardio-pulmonary support applied immediately after certification of death can preserve cells and tissues for long-term preservation at cryogenictemperatures. People, particularly children, have survived up to an hour without heartbeat after submersion in ice water. In one case, full recovery was reported after 45 minutes underwater.JOURNAL, Full recovery after 45 min accidental submersion, Intensive Care Medicine, 28, 4, 524, April 2002, 11967613, 10.1007/s00134-002-1245-2, Perk L, Borger van de Burg F, Berendsen HH, van't Wout JW, To facilitate rapid preservation of cells and tissue, cryonics "standby teams" are available to wait by the bedside of patients who are to be cryopreserved to apply cooling and cardio-pulmonary support as soon as possible after declaration of death.WEB,weblink Comprehensive Member Standby, 14 December 2010, No mammal has been successfully cryopreserved and brought back to life, with the exception of frozen human embryos. Resuscitation of a postembryonic human from cryonics is not possible with current science. Some scientists still support the idea based on their expectations of the capabilities of future science.WEB,weblink Scientists' Open Letter on Cryonics, 17 July 2009, WEB,weblink Advances in Cryonics, 14 December 2010,

Fooling genes

In The Selfish Gene, Richard Dawkins describes an approach to life-extension that involves "fooling genes" into thinking the body is young.BOOK, Richard, Dawkins, Richard Dawkins, The Selfish Gene, Oxford University Press, 1976, 2006, New York City, New York, 978-0-19-929115-1, 41â42, The Selfish Gene, Dawkins attributes inspiration for this idea to Peter Medawar. The basic idea is that our bodies are composed of genes that activate throughout our lifetimes, some when we are young and others when we are older. Presumably, these genes are activated by environmental factors, and the changes caused by these genes activating can be lethal. It is a statistical certainty that we possess more lethal genes that activate in later life than in early life. Therefore, to extend life, we should be able to prevent these genes from switching on, and we should be able to do so by "identifying changes in the internal chemical environment of a body that take place during aging... and by simulating the superficial chemical properties of a young body".BOOK, Richard, Dawkins, Richard Dawkins, The Selfish Gene, Oxford University Press, 1976, 2006, New York City, New York, 978-0-19-929115-1, 42, The Selfish Gene,

Mind uploading

One hypothetical future strategy that, as some suggest,{{who|date=July 2017}} "eliminates" the complications related to a physical body, involves the copying or transferring (e.g. by progressively replacing neurons with transistors) of a conscious mind from a biological brain to a non-biological computer system or computational device. The basic idea is to scan the structure of a particular brain in detail, and then construct a software model of it that is so faithful to the original that, when run on appropriate hardware, it will behave in essentially the same way as the original brain.BOOK, Anders, Sandberg, Anders Sandberg, Nick, BostrÃ¶m, Nick Bostrom, Whole Brain Emulation: A Roadmap, The basic idea is to take a particular brain, scan its structure in detail, and construct a software model of it that is so faithful to the original that, when run on appropriate hardware, it will behave in essentially the same way as the original brain.,weblink 7 March 2013, Technical Report #2008â3, 2008, Future of Humanity Institute, Oxford University, Whether or not an exact copy of one's mind constitutes actual life extension is matter of debate.Some scientists believe that the dead may one day be "resurrected" through simulation technology.WEB, Bostrom, Nick, Are You Living in a Computer Simulation?, 19 January 2010,weblink

Young blood injection

{{see|Young blood transfusion}}Some clinics currently offer injection of blood products from young donors. The alleged benefits of the treatment, none of which have been demonstrated in a proper study, include a longer life, darker hair, better memory, better sleep, curing heart diseases, diabetes and Alzheimer.WEB,weblink Questionable "Young Blood" Transfusions Offered in U.S. as Anti-Aging Remedy, Maxmen, Amy, January 13, 2017, MIT Technology Review, November 5, 2017, NEWS,weblink This anti-aging startup says US$8,000 worth of young blood can help you live longer, Kirkey, Sharon, November 2, 2017, National Post, November 5, 2017, NEWS,weblink Teenagers' blood being sold for Â£6,200 a shot, Osborne, Samuel, August 20, 2017, The Independent, NEWS,weblink Ambrosia: the startup harvesting the blood of the young, Haynes, Gavin, August 21, 2017, The Guardian, November 5, 2017, NEWS,weblink This start-up is offering $8,000 blood transfusions from teens to people who want to fight aging, Farr, Christina, May 31, 2017, CNBC, November 5, 2017, The approach is based on parabiosis studies such as Irina Conboy do on mice, but Conboy says young blood does not reverse aging (even in mice) and that those who offer those treatments have misunderstood her research. Neuroscientist Tony Wyss-Coray, who also studied blood exchanges on mice as recently as 2014, said people offering those treatments are "basically abusing people's trust" and that young blood treatments are "the scientific equivalent of fake news".NEWS,weblink A startup that charges $8,000 for young blood transfusions swears theyâre worth every penny, Foley, Katherine Ellen, June 1, 2017, Quartz, November 5, 2017, The treatment appeared in HBO's Silicon Valley fiction series.NEWS,weblink This anti-aging start-up is charging thousands of dollars for teen blood, Kosoff, Maya, June 1, 2017, Vanity Fair, November 5, 2017, Two clinics in California, run by Jesse Karmazin and David C. Wright, offer $8,000 injections of plasma extracted from the blood of young people. Karmazin has not published in any peer-reviewed journal and his current study does not use a control group.